Patient Stories of Care

America’s safety net health system is made up of public and teaching hospitals and their innovative primary and specialty care clinics. Widely known for safeguarding the health of all - regardless of ability to pay - safety net systems know how to provide coverage, access to quality care and value to individuals and society.

Safety net health systems are always there for everyone in need — the un- or underinsured and any of us who may be in need of critical care through burn units, trauma care and neonatal services. But in times of economic hardship, safety net hospitals become even more critical.

As safety net providers struggle with the influx of patients amid the current economic downturn, many are taking bigger steps to delivery high quality care and ensure patient satisfaction.  

These are the stories of America’s safety net health systems, the communities we seek to keep healthy and productive, the patients we serve and the comprehensive and high quality care we provide to all.

Abby Jack – San Antonio, TX

Doctors at University Hospital refused to give up on 6 month-old Abby Jack, the 6-month-old tiny miracle with a blood clot on top of her brain. Read More...

Lisa Perez – Aurora, OH

When Lisa Perez’s daily jog turned into a heart attack, MetroHealth Medical Center saved her life and helped prevent future attacks. In return, Perez is helping save the lives of others. Read More...

Carolyn – Hollywood, FL

Cancer was the enemy in Carolyn’s family. But when it struck her, Memorial Healthcare gave her the strength to fight back. Read More...

Sally Leukefeld – Lexington, KY

UK HealthCare's immediate and intimate attention helped Sally Leukefeld face - and beat - the breast cancer diagnosis she could no longer deny. Read More...

The Safety Net - Always There When You Need Us

  • Tell Us Your Story!

    NAPH welcomes submissions from its members. Tell us about your awards, new developments, and innovative programs showing demonstrated results. Selected stories are featured on naph.org and used in NAPH advocacy efforts. Your stories help us communicate the "good news" of safety net hospitals. Member stories are featured monthly on naph.org. View the editorial calendar below for topics and deadlines.

  • Malcolm Jones – Winona, Miss.

    At 13 years old, living with a fatal congenital heart condition, Malcolm finally found his heart at Batson Children’s Hospital.

  • Dugan Smith - Fostoria, Ohio

    Dugan was just another 10-year-old baseball nut when OSUMC doctors discovered a malignant tumor near his femur, and only chemotherapy and a rare surgical procedure would save his life.

  • Anna Robinson - Tampa, FL

    Anna was born with a condition that meant she would not be able to breathe on her own outside of the womb, yet physicians at Tampa General Hospital were able to save her life.

  • Judith Ponce - New York City

    With the help of an NYC Health and Hospitals Corporation diabetes care team, Ponce is managing her health and feeling great.

  • Andrew Linn - Cedar City, Utah

    After surviving a tour in Iraq and being hit by a drunk driver, Linn has miraculously survived another near-death experience thanks to UMC Southern Nevada.

  • Julio Zertuche - San Antonio, TX

    At age 35, Zertuche had a heart attack but could not get relief until he underwent a procedure called transmyocardial laser revascularization at University Hospital.

  • Claire and Linda - Hollywood, FL

    Claire was born with multiple heart defects. To repair these complex heart disorders, Claire would require lifesaving open heart surgery before her first birthday to survive to adulthood.

  • Brenda Charett Jensen - Modesto, CA

    In one of the most complex transplants ever performed, a team of surgeons at UC Davis Medical Center has restored the voice of this 52-year-old woman who had been unable to speak for more than a decade.

  • Johnny Blair - Hazlehurst, GA

    Johnny Blair, 72, learned of his kidney failure during a routine physical. After five years of dialysis, Blair underwent a kidney transplant surgery at Shands Jacksonville. Today’s he’s back on a divine mission as a pastor.

  • Katy Hayes - Kingwood, TX

    This Houston-area mom who faced a flesh-eating bacteria is now back home thanks to the life-saving work by staff at Parkland Memorial Hospital in Dallas.

  • Quint and Liz - Hollywood, FL

    Liz was 16 weeks pregnant when she and her husband, John, learned their unborn baby had a transposition of the great arteries. Baby Quint received life-saving surgery right after he was born.

  • Lynda Etheridge - Little Rock, AR

    In early 2009, Lynda Etheridge was feeling fine and saw no need for a doctor-recommended brain scan to see if she had an aneurysm. Today, she's glad that her husband, Herb, convinced her to do it at UAMS.

  • LINDA HELMES - COLUMBUS, OH

    Linda Helmes was told she would die of heart failure. She turned to Dr. Benjamin Sun and the experts at Ohio State who implanted the HeartMate II® Left Ventricular Assist System (LVAS). Five years later, Linda is still alive and well.

  • ABBY MARTIN - LEXINGTON, KY

    Born with CHARGE Association, Abby Martin has endured 25 surgeries in four years. She and her family have faced tremendous challenges, but they're not alone. See how Kentucky Children's Hospital made a difference in their lives.

  • Tiffany Taylor, Daytona Beach, FL

    Last summer, DeLand resident Tiffany Taylor delivered a healthy 7 pound baby girl, Emily Michaela Thornton. But the delivery wasn’t quite the experience she was expecting.

  • Jen Engler, Daytona Beach, FL

    Jen Engler had always planned to deliver her son Luke at Halifax Health. After he was born, she realized how important that decision had been.

  • Carol Custodio, Daytona Beach, FL

    Radical Surgery Puts Patient on Fast Road to Recovery. Last year, Carol Custodio thought she was just going to the doctor for a routine exam. But she left with some shocking news: She might have cervical cancer.

  • Francisca Perez, Indianapolis, IN

    Francisca Perez lives only three minutes from Pecar Health Center, part of Wishard Health Services. As a mother, she prefers all of her children be treated at Pecar, especially four-year-old Martin.

  • Sergio Vivanco, Hollywood, FL

    One Fort Lauderdale resident knows first-hand the importance of having a public hospital in their community. Sergio Vivanco, 78, underwent triple bypass surgery at another hospital and then post-surgical complications caused Vivanco to be transferred to Memorial Regional Hospital.

  • Desiree Batiste, Houston, TX

    In November 2007, after several months of being physically exhausted, working 10-hour days, and preparing to move to another home, Desiree Batiste recalls lying down to take a nap. She didn’t wake up until five days later when her family found her barely alive on the floor in her house and called 9-1-1.

  • Adrian Abenojar, Seattle, WA

    Adrian Abenojar, 18, suffered a central nervous system infection and fluid in his brain following a bout with tuberculosis. In addition to treating him for the TB, doctors drained the excess fluid and relieved the pressure in his brain with a shunt.

  • Deborah Davis, Atlanta, GA

    Deborah Davis, 53, jogged a few blocks to the pharmacy near her home one evening to pick up a prescription. On the way there she was hit by a car and ended up landing in the middle of an intersection. When an ambulance arrived, the driver, seeing her injuries, took her to Grady, because of its stellar reputation for trauma care.

  • Elba Silva, Pompano Beach, FL

    Elba’s first symptoms were pounding, almost unbearable headaches. A family physician told her she was suffering from depression and prescribed an anti-depressant. But when the headaches intensified, Elba went to North Broward Medical Center’s emergency room.

  • Gail Theurer, San Bernardino, CA

    While jogging one morning, Gail Theurer, 68, was attacked by rottweilers. She was airlifted to Arrowhead Regional Medical Center, a Level II trauma center, and treated not only for trauma wounds but burn wounds too, since she had lost so much skin in the attack.

  • Katherine Silacci, San Mateo, CA

    Katherine Silacci, 83, has diabetes, high cholesterol, hypertension, kidney disease, osteoarthritis, Paget's disease (a degenerative bone disease) and hearing loss - her daughter found a primary care physician at the San Mateo Medical Center's Ron Robinson Senior Care Center, an interdisciplinary clinic specializing in care to elders.

  • Jeremiah Archuleta, Denver, CO

    Jeremiah Archuleta, 28, was riding in the back of a truck that suddenly slammed into the car ahead and instantly thrown out of the truck and into the road. Paramedics from Denver Health responded immediately and treated his severe injuries – including a broken neck and an irregular heartbeat.

  • Brenner Logan, Jackson, FL

    Brenner Logan, 3, had always been healthy and energetic, until he began to turn increasingly pale over several days, and his skin and eyes were completely yellow. Brenner was transferred to Holtz Children’s Hospital - part of the Jackson Health System - where a specialist performed a rare transplant technique on him.

Upcoming Events

From: 
Email:  
To: 
Email:  
Subject: 
Message: